Botanical classification: Prunus armeniaca. 
Variety denomination: xe2x80x98Goldenblushxe2x80x99.
In a continuing effort to improve the quality of shipping fruits, I, the inventor, typically hybridize a large number of peach, nectarine, plum, apricot, and cherry seedlings each year. I also grow a lesser number of open pollinated seeds of each of these fruits. The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of apricot tree, which has been denominated varietally as xe2x80x98Goldenblushxe2x80x99.
During the spring of 1994 I gathered open pollinated seeds from an unnamed apricot seedling in my experimental orchard near Le Grand, Calif. in Merced County (San Joaquin Valley). That unnamed seedling was a first generation cross using xe2x80x98Goldensweetxe2x80x99 (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 8,932) apricot tree as the selected seed parent and another unnamed seedling as the selected pollen parent. The seeds of the present cross were then germinated and grown as seedlings on their own root in my greenhouse. Upon reaching dormancy that fall, the seedlings were transplanted as a group to a cultivated area of my experimental orchard described above. During the 1998 evaluation season, I selected the present variety as a single tree from the group of seedlings described above because the fruit was early in maturing, firm, sweet, and cosmetically attractive. Subsequent to origination of the present apricot tree, I asexually reproduced it by budding and grafting in the experimental orchard described above, and such reproduction of plant and fruit characteristics were true to the original plant in all respects. The reproduction of the variety included the use of xe2x80x98Nemaguardxe2x80x99 (unpatented) rootstock upon which the present variety was compatible and true to type.
The present variety is similar to its selected seed grandparent, xe2x80x98Goldensweetxe2x80x99 (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 8,932), by producing fruit that is somewhat oblong in shape, medium in size, firm in texture, sweet in flavor, and freestone in type, but is distinguished therefrom by blooming about ten days earlier, by being self-unfruitful, and by producing fruit that has a much higher degree of red blush in the skin color and that matures about fourteen days earlier.
The present apricot variety is characterized by a medium size, vigorous, half-hardy, and medium productive tree. Being self-unfruitful, the present variety requires cross pollinization from another early blooming apricot. The fruit matures under the ecological conditions described during the first week in June, with first picking on Jun. 2, 2003. The fruit is medium in size, orange yellow with a red blush in skin color, freestone in type, orange yellow in flesh color, very firm in texture, and sweet in flavor.